Seat deceleration attenuation apparatus

ABSTRACT

Seat support apparatus for a vehicle equipped with independent orthogonal deceleration devices. A seat is attached to a carriage which is constrained for movement in a vertically disposed track in a frame. The frame is constrained for fore and aft movement on a rail attached to the floor. The seat is supported for relative lateral movement to the carriage; such movement being normally decelerated by lateral attenuation means. The carriage supporting the seat is restrained against vertical movement by attenuation means secured between the frame and the carriage; while fore and aft deceleration is provided by attenuation means interposed between the floor of the aircraft and the frame.

States Patent 1 1 3,705,705

Eiggert, Jr. 1 Dec. 12, 1972 s41 SEAT DECELERATION ATTENUATION 3,532,37910/1970 Reilly et al. ..297/2l6 APPARATUS Primary Examiner-William H.Schultz [72] lnvemor' 3 5:5; Eggen Hummgdon Attorney-Thomas l. Davenportet al.

[73] Assignee: The Budd Company, Philadelphia, [57] ABSTRACT Pa. Seatsupport apparatus for a vehlcle equipped w1th m- Flledi g- 1971dependent orthogonal deceleration devices. A seat is 2] A L N 173,944attached to a carriage which is constrained for move- I i W o ment in avertically disposed track in a frame. The 4 frame is constrained forfore and aft movement on a U-S. rail attached to the floo The seat isupported for [5 Int. ..Fl6m relative lateral movement to the carriage;Such move [58] Field of Search-"24M 122 R; 248/399 4001429, ment beingnormally decelerated by lateral attenua- 248/430; 297/216 tion means.The carriage supporting the seat is restrained against vertical movementby attenuation [56] References C'ted means secured between the frame andthe carriage;

while fore and aft deceleration is provided by attenua- UNITED STATESPATENTS t1on means interposed between the floor of the alrcraft1,104,429 7/1914 Lacrotte ..244/l22 R and the frame. 2,986,199 5/1961Ferriera et al. ..248/429 X The Invention herein described was made inthe 3,100,617 8/1963 Radke et al. ..24s/430 course of in under acontract or Subcontract thereunder with the Department of Navy.

7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTED nan 12 I972 SHEEI 1 [IF 4 INVENTOR.

WA LTE R S. EGGERT, JR.

AGENT PA'TENTEDBEBIZIHYZ 3.705 705 SHEET 3 BF 4 INVENTOR.

AGENT PATENTED um 12 m2 SHEEI [1F 4 INVENTOR.

WALTER s. EGGERT,JR.

BY uwm' 2 M AGENT SEAT DECELERATION ATTENUATION APPARATUS This inventionrelates to seat deceleration apparatus in a vehicle and moreparticularly to seat apparatus adapted to attenuate the impact of loadsimparted to an occupant in a seat in the event of a crash of thevehicle.

Heretofore it was the practice to provide an arrangement for supportinga seat similar to a tripod in which the legs of the tripod constitutedenergy attenuators. In such arrangements the vertical attenuator hasusually been found to be well oriented but the lateral and longitudinalattenuators because of their slope tend to couple and induce seatrotation upon impact of loads being applied along one of the axes. Therotation is induced because there is no positive constraint which causesthe seat to move only along the axis.

In still other arrangements it was the practice to provide loadattenuating seat apparatus yieldable only in one direction in the eventof a crash while being substantially rigid in other directions. Theapparatus could absorb loads applied to an occupant in this onedirection but were ineffective to yield to loads applied in any of theother directions. Thus whenever loads in excess of a given magnitudewere applied to the occupant through the seat, the occupant was ofteninjured.

The present invention provides a seat for an occupant of a vehicle whichis capable of absorbing a peak impact load within a given range ofmagnitude regardless of its direction so that the effective loadimparted to the occupant is minimized to a tolerable value. Toaccomplish this end the seat is mounted to a carriage slide withprovision to constrain movement of the seat transversely of the vehiclealong a first axis laterally of the vehicle, an attenuator beinginterposed between the carriage and the seat to decelerate movement ofthe seat relative to the carriage. A frame having a track therein isprovided for the carriage to constrain its' movement vertically. Asecond attenuator is provided to decelerate motion along the track inthe frame. The frame in turn is mounted for tracked movement along athird axis longitudinally of the vehicle and a third attenuatordecelerates movement of the frame along said third axis.

Therefore a primary object of this invention is to provide a new andimproved impact attenuating apparatus for a seat of a vehicle whichavoids one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art structures.

Another important object of this invention is to provide an improvedattenuating apparatus for a seat adapted to decelerate motion of theseat carrying an occupant as a result of peak loads resulting from acrash of the vehicle.

Another important object of this invention is the provision of a new andimproved tri-axial energy attenuated seat having independent energyattenuation along each axis.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a new andimproved seat arrangement capable of deformation along an individualaxis without causing or inducing significant deformation along otheraxes.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a new andimproved seat support apparatus adapted to absorb peak energy loads suchthat the relationship of the center of mass of the seat and its occupantto the floor mountings of the apparatus will not induce rotations orcross-couplings in the seat structure upon impact of the vehicle.

Other and further objectsand advantages of the invention will beapparent when considered with the description which follows takentogether with the accompanying drawing.

FIG. 1 is an exploded three-quarter side elevational view of variouscomponents of the seat attenuation apparatus of one form of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded three-quarter side elevational view of variouscomponents of a modified form of seat attenuation apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the various components illustratedin FIG. 2 in their assembled relationship;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the deceleration apparatus takenalong the lines 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view taken along the lines 55 of FIG. 3.

With reference now to the drawing, numeral 10 indicates a seat having abase portion 11 and a back portion 12. The base portion includes opposedside portions 13 to enable the seat to be supported by carriage means 14which is mounted for tracked movement in a frame 15.

'The carriage means 14 includes an upper transverse bar 17 and a lowertransverse bar 18 connected by a yoke number 19 which includes aforwardly extending portion 21 having a transverse cylindrical bore 23.A lateral energy absorbing device 25 is received in the bore. The energyabsorber or attenuator contemplated for use may be a type of vehicle andlanding gear shock absorber for control of body and seat loads duringcrash. Such units may be of the class having a sliding tube enclosing aretardant such as a frictional device, hydraulic or pneumatic, viscous,or dynamic, i.e., acceleration pressure drop. Such devices may furtherbe of the classinvolving plastic deformation, extrusions, torsion, orcollapsible hinges. The lateral energy device 25 as presentlyillustrated includes opposed internally threaded end portions 26,27which extend between the upright sidewalls 13 of the seat base 11. Bolts28 which extend through apertures 30a in the sidewalls are received inthe threaded end portions 25, 26. In order to stabilize and prevent theseat 10 from rotating about the axis of the lateral energy absorbingdevice 25 a pair of longitudinally disposed sway bars 29 are provided atthe opposite ends of upper bar 17 and upper portions of the sidewalls 13of the seat base 1 l. The forward end of each of the sway bars isprovided with a universal swivel element 30 which in turn ispin-connected to its respective sidewall 13 as at 30a. The rear portionsof the sway bars likewise include swivel elements 30 which are suitablysecured to the forward portions of elongated fittings 33 affixed atopposite ends of the transverse bar 17. The rear portions of thefittings 33 include roller elements 35 mounted thereon. The lowertransverse bar 18 of the carriage means includes downwardly andrearwardly extending arm portions 37 which also have suitably mountedthereon rollers 35.

In order to provide vertical tracked movement for the carriage means 14the frame 15 is shown including an upright transversely extending wallportion 39 with contiguously forwardly extending wing portions 40 at itsouter side margins. The wing portions each include a generallyvertically inwardly disposed groove 41 into which is received theaforementioned upper and lower rollers 35 mounted on the sides of thecarriage 14. A vertical energy absorber 43 is suitably pin-connected atits upper end to a lug 44 integral with the top marginal edge portion ofthe back plate 39 of the frame 15, while the lower end of the energyabsorber is secured to the forward end of lug portion 45 integral withthe central base portion of the yoke member 19. The vertical energyabsorber thus serves to inhibit vertical movement of the carriage alongthe track elements 41.

In order to permit fore and aft horizontal movement of the assembledseat 10, carriage 14, and frame unit 15 respectively, a pair of siderails 46 is provided. The side rails in the present instance are shownas being of channel form having directed flanges 47. The side rails aremounted in spaced apart relationship on the floor 48 of the vehiclecarrying the seat. The aforementioned side walls 40 of the frame 15include grooves 49 disposed along their lower margins which extendhorizontally to receive complemental tongue-flange portions 47 of theside rails 46. A longitudinal, i.e., fore and aft energy absorber 51 issecured at its forward end to the lug 47 of the previously mentionedyoke 19 while its rearward portion is suitably pin-connected to post 53which in turn is suitably affixed to the floor structure 48 of thevehicle.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 to inclusive there is illustrated a modifiedform of the invention. Reference numeral 75 indicates a seat assemblyhaving a base portion 76 and a back portion 77. The base portion of theseat includes a pair of opposed sidewalls 79 and a front wall 80. Theseat assembly is supported by a slide assembly 81 which is mounted forfore and aft movement on a carriage frame 83. A base frame 85 receivesthe carriage frame for generally vertical movement, the frame in turnbeing received within a floor well 87 of the vehicle and mounted forfore and aft on side rails 89.

With reference now to FIGS. 2 and 4 the slide assembly 81 is shown asincluding a hollow rectangular sleeve portion 91 having an enlargedupwardly extending portion 93 which includes a transverse bore 94 intowhich is received a transverse energy absorbing device 95. The latterdevice includes opposite internally threaded end portions 97, 98 whichextend between the sidewalls 79 of the seat base 76. The sidewalls ofthe seat base are apertured as at 101 to enable the passage of bolts 103to secure the seat 75 to the lateral energy absorbing device 95. As seenin FIG. 2 the slide assembly 81 is shown as including a forward end wall105 which is grooved as at 107 to receive a roller 109 suitably mountedfor rotation to the rear inner face of front wall 80 of the seat.Lateral loads imparted to an occupant in the seat may thus be absorbedby the lateral energy absorbing device 95 resulting in a limitedmovement of the ends 97, 98 of the device as well as travel of theroller 109 of the seat in groove 107. The slide assembly is formed withside walls 111, 112 and which contain grooves as at 113 and 114respectively to enable fore and aft sliding movement of the seat andslide assembly 81 relative to carriage 83 in a manner to be hereinafterdescribed.

The carriage 83 is shown as including an upper horizontal transverse bar115 and a lower horizontal transverse bar 117 maintained in spacedrelationship by a truss 119 consisting of a top plate 120 and sideplates 121, 122. The opposite ends of the upper and lower bars havesuitably mounted thereon rollers 123.

The sidewalls 121, 122 of the truss 119 extend forwardly of the lowerhorizontal bar 117 and carry on their outer faces roller elements 125.The latter roller elements are received in the aforementioned grooves113, 114 of sidewalls 111, 112 respectively, see also FIG. 4. In orderto provide energy attenuation in a fore and aft direction correspondingto the axis of the slide assembly a fore and aft energy absorbing device129 is connected at one of its ends to lug 130 integral with the rearface of end wall 105 and at its other end to a clevis post 131 affixedto the underside of top plate 120.

With reference now to FIGS. 2 and 4 the aforementioned base frame 85 forthe seat is shown as comprising a generally vertical planar back portion135, a horizontal web portion 136 contiguous with the bottom edgeportion of the planar back, and a pair of opposed side walls 137. Theside walls include channel-like grooves 139 along their inner facesalong the side margins of back wall 135. The grooves extend generallyvertically from the top surface of horizontal web 136 to the top edge ofthe back plate 135. The aforementioned rollers 123 of the carriage 83ride grooves 139 to enable up and down movement of the carriage 83relative to the base frame 85. A vertical energy absorber 145 issuitably pin-connected at its upper end to lugs 147 projecting from.thetop marginal edge of the back face of plate of the frame, while thelower portion of the energy absorbing device passes through opening 194in the plate and is secured at its lower end to ears 151 projecting fromlower cross-bar 117 of the carriage 83. See FIGS. 2 and 5. In order toenable fore and aft horizontal movement of the base frame 85 relative tothe floor 87, the sidewalls each includes a tongue portion 153 whichprojects outwardly from the outer faces of sidewalls 137. The tonguesare received within opposed grooves 155 in oppositely disposed siderails 89.'In order to inhibit fore and aft horizontal movement of thebase frame 85 relative to the floor of the vehicle an additional foreand aft energy absorber 157 is suitably pin-connected to an anchorelement 159 attached to the floor of the vehicle while the forward endof the absorber 157 is suitably pin-connected as at 161 to yoke member163 which is disposed horizontally and is secured to the back surface ofback plate 135 and the outer surfaces of side plates 137.

It is thus seen from the above described description that a seatattenuation apparatus is provided which is capable of absorbing theimpact of a peak load regardless of its direction so'that the effectiveload imparted to the occupant of the seat is reduced to a tolerablevalue and spread over a period of time. It is seen also that the seat isuniversally movable via vertical, lateral and longitudinal axes tothereby have freedom of movement in all directions but such movement isnormally decelerated by the previously described vertical energyabsorber 145, lateral energy absorber 85, and by longitudinal absorbers129, 157. Any load imposed on the occupant is thus resolved into itsrectangular components without inducing rotations or cross-couplingsupon impact of the vehicle.

While there have been described what are at present considered to be thepreferred embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be madetherein without departing from the invention and it is therefore aimedin the appended claims to cover all such changes as fall within thespirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for decelerating the movement of a body in the seat of avehicle having a floor, said apparatus including frame means, means forconstraining said frame means to movement in a fore and aft directionrelative to said vehicle, carriage means, means for constrainingmovement of said carriage means relative to said frame means to verticalmovement normal to said fore and aft direction, lateral attenuationmeans secured to said carriage means and supporting said seat anddecelerating lateral movement of said seat relative to said carriagemeans, vertical attenuation means secured to said carriage means and tosaid vehicle for decelerating vertical movement of said seat and saidcarriage, and longitudinal attenuation means secured to said carriagemeans and to said floor for decelerating movement of said seat and saidcarriage longitudinally of said vehicle.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including stabilizing means securedbetween said seat and said carriage means to preclude rotation of saidseat relative to said lateral attenuation means.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said stabilizing meansconstitutes sway bars and swivel means connecting said sway bars to saidseat and to said carriage means.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for constrainingmovement of said carriage means relative to said frame means includesspaced apart track means in said frame means, and roller means mountedon said carriage means and received in said track means.

5. Orthogonal deceleration apparatus for a seat in a vehicle having afloor, said apparatus including frame means, means for constrainingmovement of said frame means to movement in a fore and aft longitudinaldirection, attenuation means interposed between said floor and saidframe for decelerating movement of said frame longitudinally of saidvehicle, carriage means, means for constraining movement of saidcarriage means relative to said frame means to a vertical direction,second attenuation means interposed between said frame means and saidcarriage means for decelerating movement of said carriage in saidvertical direction, slide means mountedon said carriage means andconstrained for movement to said fore and aft direction, thirdattenuation means mounted between said slide means and said carriagemeans for decelerating movement of said slide means in said longitudinaldirection, and additional attenuation means connected to said slidemeans and to said seat means to decelerate movement of said seatlaterally of said vehicle.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein said carriage meansincludes a tongue portion having rollers and wherein said slide meansincludes a sleeve portion to accommodate said tongue portion and rollersfor sliding movement.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein said slide means includesportions defining a guideway transverse to the direction of movement ofsaid slide means and wherein said seat includes roller means which aremounted for movement in said guideway.

1. Apparatus for decelerating the movement of a body in the seat of avehicle having a floor, said apparatus including frame means, means forconstraining said frame means to movement in a fore and aft directionrelative to said vehicle, carriage means, means for constrainingmovement of said carriage means relative to said frame means to verticalmovement normal to said fore and aft direction, lateral attenuationmeans secured to said carriage means and supporting said seat anddecelerating lateral movement of said seat relative to said carriagemeans, vertical attenuation means secured to said carriage means and tosaid vehicle for decelerating vertical movement of said seat and saidcarriage, and longitudinal attenuation means secured to said carriagemeans and to said floor for decelerating movement of said seat and saidcarriage longitudinally of said vehicle.
 2. Apparatus as set forth inclaim 1 including stabilIzing means secured between said seat and saidcarriage means to preclude rotation of said seat relative to saidlateral attenuation means.
 3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 whereinsaid stabilizing means constitutes sway bars and swivel means connectingsaid sway bars to said seat and to said carriage means.
 4. Apparatus asset forth in claim 1 wherein said means for constraining movement ofsaid carriage means relative to said frame means includes spaced aparttrack means in said frame means, and roller means mounted on saidcarriage means and received in said track means.
 5. Orthogonaldeceleration apparatus for a seat in a vehicle having a floor, saidapparatus including frame means, means for constraining movement of saidframe means to movement in a fore and aft longitudinal direction,attenuation means interposed between said floor and said frame fordecelerating movement of said frame longitudinally of said vehicle,carriage means, means for constraining movement of said carriage meansrelative to said frame means to a vertical direction, second attenuationmeans interposed between said frame means and said carriage means fordecelerating movement of said carriage in said vertical direction, slidemeans mounted on said carriage means and constrained for movement tosaid fore and aft direction, third attenuation means mounted betweensaid slide means and said carriage means for decelerating movement ofsaid slide means in said longitudinal direction, and additionalattenuation means connected to said slide means and to said seat meansto decelerate movement of said seat laterally of said vehicle. 6.Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein said carriage means includes atongue portion having rollers and wherein said slide means includes asleeve portion to accommodate said tongue portion and rollers forsliding movement.
 7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein saidslide means includes portions defining a guideway transverse to thedirection of movement of said slide means and wherein said seat includesroller means which are mounted for movement in said guideway.